1. Field of Invention
This invention generally relates to the field of conversion kits and in particular to a kit that converts a used bucket into a cooler for the transportation and storage of beverages or perishable items.
2. Description of the Related Art
Containers designed to keep items stored within them cold, commonly referred to as "coolers," exist in many varieties. Most coolers consist of a hollow, insulated box or cylinder and a lid. Typically, ice is placed within the insulated area to maintain cold temperatures for the items stored within the cooler. Other features may include a carrying handle, compartments to keep items separated from the cooling source, or reusable freezer packs in lieu of ice.
One example of a typical cooler found in the prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,934 by Hotta. This invention consists of a constant temperature box comprising a body and a lid closing an upper opening thereof, the body and lid being made of steel, synthetic resin, and an insulating material so as to be of adiabatic construction. The box is incorporated with a hollow, flat, and small in height container which serves as a reservoir for a cooling or hearing source and which is disposed horizontally at the upper portion of the body, thereby cooling or warming foodstuffs and beverages kept within the box.
Another basic type of cooler is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,652,698 to Schlumbohm, which discloses a portable cylindrical icebox consisting of two nested, metal food containers. The bottom of the upper container protrudes for a limited length into the tapered open end of the lower container, thereby establishing a metal-to-metal contact for the purpose of heat conductivity. Thus, by putting ice in the upper container, food carried in the lower container will stay cool. Both containers are insulated by cork jackets, with a cork plate on the lower container and a cork lid and the upper container.
More specialized coolers also have been developed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,072 issued to Shaw, describes a portable single-bottle cooler comprising a carrying case in which a plurality of flasks of coolant are removably disposed about the bottle. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,176 by Johnson et al. provides an individual-beverage cooler that consists of a cylindrical freezer pack insert placed into a cup with a cover. The cylindrical freezer-pack insert includes removable sections to change its size so as to accommodate a different size cup, bottle or can.
More recently, multipurpose refrigerated containers have become available. Two examples are U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,361 by Halpern and U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,069 issued to Gies. Halpern's cooler includes a deformable but resilient insulated pouch, which houses freezable gel packs, and a mounting assembly coupled to the container for securing it to both the handlebar and to a portion of the upper basket of a grocery cart.
The cooler of Gies consists of an adjustable, refreezable structure comprised of a flexible cover having an inner and an outer layer of urethane-coated nylon fabric. The main utility of this cooler is that it can be wrapped around objects of varying sizes, such as beverage cans, frozen dinners, and the like.
All of the examples described above contain novel elements specifically constructed for specialized applications or to overcome specific problems. However, the structures and configurations of these prior-art coolers leave many significant problems that are overcome by the invention described herein. First, the metallic, nested, and jacketed cooler of Schlumbohm is relatively complicated in construction and expensive to produce if made in a size large enough to store significant amounts of refrigerated items. Second, the coolers of Shaw and Johnson et al. are manufactured to hold single items, and, thus, are obviously limited in their capacity. Third, Halpern and Gies do not show or suggest how their specialized inventions might be used to fit and modify a large container so as to accommodate, organize, and protect from breakage many different items simultaneously. Finally, the bulk, weight, and unorganized interior of the constant temperature box of Hotta can make portability awkward.
In contrast, the present invention aims at conveniently storing and transporting multiple refrigerated items without the added cost, bulk, or weight inherent in the manufacture of nested or adiabatic structures. Moreover, glass and other breakables are kept separated and cushioned in this invention. Finally, nothing in the prior art demonstrates how a container such as an empty bucket can simply and inexpensively be converted into a useful article, i.e. an efficiently organized and lightweight cooler.